The Case of the Fiendish Flapjack Flop (Humpty Dumpty Jr., Hard Boiled Detective)

My 10 year old and 7 year old have both read the two Humpty Dumpty detective books. They absoulutely loved them! We have one copy of each and they were literally sharing the first book back and forth and whichever one finished first started on the second one. Needless to say I am ready to read both of them if I can get them away from my kids. My 7 year old especially liked the humor in the two books. It was right up his alley! He loved all the egg jokes and the illustrations of course. He has even quoted the first book to me several times! His favorite line in the book is, "A messy desk is the sign of a busy egg." This is of course because my son has a messy desk! After he read the first one he took it to school for his teacher to read aloud to the class. It was a big hit! Get these books, they are great! We are ready for #3 to be out now!

Skate boarding with a wand from Xanadu gnomes, this oval private eye whips up adventure, and saves the day. It's enjoyable and cholesterol free!

I just finished reading this book and honestly it blew me away. I can literally hear Humphrey Bogart's voice narrating the story in my head. They were able to capture the film noir aspect perfectly. And the puns! The puns kept the story highly amusing and reminded me of many stories from my childhood memories. Also, the writing style and depth of characters truly engulfed me in the story and kept me flipping through the pages. I felt the twists were perfect, and nothing stands out as too cheesy, or too forced. I love the world they have created for our heroes, and how clever each aspect of it is. The illustrations bring it life perfectly. I could not imagine the scenery or characters being any better than what the final illustrations came out to be. I feel like this is the next big hit for children and adults alike!

When I saw the title of the newest children's series that I've recently come across, I couldn't believe it. With all the new fantasy series and kids' books hitting the shelves in increasing numbers every day, I considered myself jaded. I honestly didn't believe I'd ever find anything new or fresh again. Then I saw the improbable character featured in Sourcebooks' latest offering: HUMPTY DUMPTY, Jr.: HARDBOILED DETECTIVE. Yep, you guessed it. He's an egg. But HD, Jr. isn't just any egg. He's a trench coat wearing tough private eye with a knack for solving crimes and tracking down bad guys in New Yolk City. The creative team (Nate Evans, Paul Hindman, and Vince Evans) have outdone themselves with this series in writing and art. The writing is nice and tight, filled with wordplay and puns that the targeted audience (7 and up) will love. Throughout the book, the art serves to draw reader interest while enhancing the story with comical notes and sight gags. Just as in any good private eye story, HD, Jr. has a sidekick (Rat, a young street kid he joins up with in THE CASE OF THE FIENDISH FLAPJACK FLOP and an antagonistic police detective, Lieutenant Rosebriar (an eyepatch-wearing rhinoceros with an attitude). The short chapters fly by, chockfull of witty dialogue that kids will love. In his first case, HD, Jr. receives a panicked phonecall for help. Caller ID shows the call came from Pat-A-Cake Bakery. Sprinting into action, HD, Jr. grabs his skateboard and his semi-trust magic wand (an eggbeater with mystical properties). Once at the Pat-A-Cake Bakery, HD, Jr. discovers evidence of foul play and clues. It's obvious that Patty Cake has been abducted. And the chase is on. As I turned pages, I quickly became ten years old again. I fell in love with HD, Jr.'s scrambled world and his tough guy patter. I loved the way the book proceeds just like a "real" private eye movie would. Our fearless hero follows the trail, discovers possible villains, and gets embroiled between the cops and the bad guys. Not only that, but so much of the fairy tale world every kids becomes acquainted with while growing up get splashed onto every page. The art is rich and vibrant at times, but drawn so simply that many young readers might find themselves encouraged to pick up a pencil and try their hands at drawing the characters. The illustrations add a depth to the prose story that's invaluable for beginning readers. Fans of Dav Pilkey's Captain Underpants series and Kirk Scroggs's Wiley and Grampa's Creature Features will love this series because it feels familiar yet will take them into a new and familiar world. The first two books in the Humpty Dumpty, Jr: Hardboiled Detective just hit the bookshelves on October 1. The third book won't be out until May '09, but I'm already looking forward to it!

This book not only makes playing with your food OK, but uproariously fun! Humpty Dumpty Jr. is a detective any kid will love - with his smart alic mouth, "down and dirty" ethic and attitude and desire for justice, what's not to love?! Throw in a few "eeeww" discriptions such as "It's face was rotting wart-flesh. Foul green snot oozed over cracked teeth" and clever rhymes such as "Fe! Fi! Fo! Fegg!" roared the ogre, "I smell the blood of a rotten egg! Be he live, or be he dead, I'll grind his shell to make my bread!" and you have a book sure to engross the most picky of reader. The Case of the Fiendish Flapjack Flop, takes such nursery rhyme characters as Patty Cake, Humpty Dumpty, the Queen of Hearts, the Knave of Hearts and many others and lends it own very unique twist. I found this to be of utmost cleverness and enjoyable fun. In this first case, Humpty Dumpty Jr. discovers the beloved Patty Cake missing and her bakery Pat-A-Cake Bakery in ruins. With the help of a street kid named Rat and an egg beater magic wand, Humpty takes the search through the mean streets of New Yolk. Will he be able to crack the case or will the case crack him first? The only way to find out is to grab up a copy of The Case of the Fiendish Flapjack Flop as quickly as you can and enter the world of fiendish foods. I simply cannot recommend this story enough. It is great fun, full of laughs and a sure way to get any child wrapped in the world of reading. I am very anxious to read the next in the series The Mystery of Merlin and the Gruesome Ghost. So be on the lookout for my review on it shortly!